New Crush: Henderson Avenue's Cozy Hangout by Day and House Party by Night

From the minds behind High Fives, Tiny Victories and Double D's comes Knox-Henderson’s latest concept: Hendy’s on Henderson. The new bar and restaurant will open in the space previously occupied by Sfuzzi, just five months after the beloved Italian joint announced its closure.

While Sfuzzi’s closure may have shocked Dallasites, owners Brandon Hays and Phil Schanbaum wanted to open a new space that would fit in with an evolving Knox-Henderson. Partnering with Hendy’s co-owners Cote Bona and Chris Carpenter of Evening Entertainment Group, the four have created a space that captures the comfort and intimacy of a home setting while still being a fun place to party.
We visited Hendy’s on opening night and were immediately captivated by a reading nook in the back corner, designed to emulate the feel of a living room. The space offers a couch and chairs for guests to sit and read or catch up for hours. The shelves are stocked with books, animal figurines, old photographs and vintage Playboy magazines. Schanbaum himself sourced many of these items.

“I'm a treasure hunter,” Schanbaum says. “I've got a couple of spots around town where I like hunting for gold. But we love having conversation pieces in the venue, something that's unique, something that you know you see, something new every time you come in, but it also makes you feel like you're at home. Somebody will be able to relate to some of the pieces that are on there, because it reminds them of their grandparents' house or their family's house. We want people to come in here and feel at home.”
Other portions of the restaurant that catch our eye are a pool table in front of the reading area, a DJ stand backed by a shelf of vinyl records, rounded booths with boho-style seating and pillows, and a sign made out of golf tees reading “This ain’t no god damn country club.” The interior of the restaurant corresponds well with the vibe of Knox-Henderson.

“We noticed that this bar crowd is tending to go to more laid-back kind of places,” Carpenter says. “So we opted to go with something a little bit more timeless and vintage, and then threw in some elements of sports. Throughout the years, we’ve seen what's worked and what hasn't in different markets, and we wanted to provide a little something for everybody.”

As for the food, Schanbaum is known to bring quality to his concepts, as two-hour lines outside of Burger Schmurger would indicate. For Hendy’s, the guys partnered with Peja Krstic, owner of the Michelin-lauded Mot Hai Ba, to develop the menu. Needless to say, expectations going in were high.

We started off with the transfusion cocktail, made with Tito’s Vodka, simple syrup, Concord grape juice and ginger ale, adorably garnished with a golf tee and a grape ($11). This one is a lighter choice for those who want to take the edge off but don’t particularly enjoy the taste of alcohol.
But while you’re here, we recommend keeping it as fun and festive as possible. Our favorite cocktail of the night was the Orange Julius, a callback to a '90s mall classic. This drink contains Tito’s Vodka, coconut, orange juice, vanilla and orange cream candy. It tastes just like the namesake milkshake, with just a touch of alcohol.

As for appetizers, the pretzel calamari was one of our favorites of the night ($18). Calamari is dredged in pretzel crumbs, which makes for a bit of a salty taste, but a dip in the tartare sauce helps balance the flavor. Another good starter is the beef tartare ($17). This isn’t a typical tartare plate served as a rounded pile of raw meat; Hendy’s take on beef tartare is a lovely arrangement of five little balls of sweet potato hash topped with tartare and garnished with potato crisps.

For the mains, we’d be remiss if we didn’t recommend the lasagna ($22). Krstic’s take on the Italian dish comes in the form of spinach noodles with a hearty wagyu bolognese and a smoky bechamel over a leek sauce. Equally as good, and perhaps lighter fare, is the grilled salmon served over a ratatouille and a brown-butter vinaigrette.

Over the past few years, closures of spots like Beauty Bar, 77 Degrees, Henderson Tap House and, most recently, Smithy have crushed Knox-Henderson. But the opening of spots like the backyard-style Lawnie’s, the hip-hop and R&B-soundtracked Charlotte and now Hendy’s ensures that the neighborhood doesn’t lose its heart amid redevelopment.
Also soon to open from Schanbaum and Hays is Boogie’s, a cocktail and dance lounge in the space previously occupied by The Whippersnapper.

Though Bona and Carpenter come from the nightlife world, their collaboration with hospitality vets Schanbaum and Hays proves to be the beginning of a new chapter for all four guys — delivering on quality food and cocktails and creating a fun, diverse atmosphere in a more grown-up, cozy setting.

“We've been coming around this area for years,” Bona says, “and we’ve seen how busy it is, naturally and organically, and the vibe here is great. We just knew we wanted to be over on this block somehow.”

With Hendy’s, the Knox-Henderson renaissance continues. But be sure to RSVP for the house party. For the past few nights, this spot has been packed.

Hendy's on Henderson, 2401 N Henderson Ave. (Knox-Henderson). 5 p.m. to 2 a.m Tuesday through Friday; and 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Saturday and Sunday.